Samsung Galaxy S3 Release Date: June Launch Likely After May 3 Announcement [REPORT]

Samsung enthusiasts have been so distracted by event announcements and teasers for the Galaxy S3 that they have lost sight of the fact they probably won't get their hands on the device until at least June.

The phone is expected to be announced at the May 3 event in London, but if the S2 is an example to go by, the first orders for the phone will come at least a month after the announcement. The Galaxy S2 was unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in March last year, but was not released until April.

A new report from China also suggests the phone will be released in June. Meizi, the Chinese Smartphone Company is expected to release its new phone at the beginning of June and it is rumored to be the first device to sport Samsung's Exynos 4412, according to gforgames.com. If the source is accurate, then the Galaxy S3--also expected to feature the Exynos 4412-- will be launched after Meizi's phone, in June.

The Samsung Galaxy S3 countdown has officially begun with Samsung's teaser campaign in full swing and many more to come ahead of the anticipated May 3 release date, according to a spokesperson for the company.

On Sunday, Samsung captured the hearts of fans by posting a teaser countdown clock, which struck zero on Monday morning and redirected users to a teaser video.

The video, which didn't feature the phone, took a stab at Apple by displaying pictures of sheep. You can now stand out from everyone else, the teaser tagline reads.

Among the teaser taglines are: Truly smart technology becomes a natural part of life, Where a galaxy fits perfectly into your hand, Your view of the world grows even wider. As you gain the power to explore it freely and swiftly. With technology that fits in this easily.

The official unveiling of the phone is expected at a press event in London on May 3. The invitation reads, Come and meet the next Galaxy. It includes large paint-like blobs, which some have interpreted as meaning the phone will feature the same S-Pen Stylus as the Galaxy Note. Another speculation linked to the invitation is that the metallic metal effect on the blue botch could mean Samsung will ditch the plastic case of the S2 for a metallic one.

Pre-Orders

Another unexpected giveaway that appeared this week was a pre-order page from Amazon's Germany branch.

There weren't too many details revealed on Amazon's pre-order page, but if the specs listed are accurate, the Samsung Galaxy S3 will sport one of the best cameras in the smart phone market. Most of Samsung's competitors feature a 8MP camera.

The price of the phone, specified by Amazon in Germany is 599 Euros, but the shipping date for the phone was not listed.

On Friday, the Verge reported that the S3 isn't the only product Samsung is expected to unveil at the event. The report says Samsung is also gearing up to launch the S-Cloud--its iCloud competitor.

The success of the Galaxy S2 and the delay of S3 has put a lot of pressure on Samsung to deliver a sequel. The S2 was unveiled at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) last year, and was heralded one of the best phones of the year for its sleek design and lightning-fast performance.

Rumored Specs:
4.6-inch 1280×720 Super AMOLED Plus display
9mm thick body
8-12 megapixel main camera with LED and Xenon flash
2 megapixel front-facing camera
32 or 64 GB of internal memory
USB 3.0 capability2GB RAM
4 G LTE 1.8 GHz quad-cores Samsung Exynos CPU Processor
Touchwhiz 5.0 overlay
Eye-tracking